Water-cooled sealing ring for converter



Dec. 19, 1967 A. WEGSCHEIDER ET AL 3,358,983

WATEH-COOLED SEALING RING FOR CONVERTER Filed May 15, 1964 INVENTORS.WEGSCHEJDER EM M ETMU LLER ALFRED R(IJBIAND K THEIR ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,358,983 WATER-COOLED SEALING RING FOR CONVERTER AlfredWegscheider, Linz, and Roland Kemmetmueller, Vienna, Austria, assignorsto Bot Brassert Oxygen Technik AG., Zurich, Switzerland, a company ofSwitzerland Filed May 15, 1964, Ser. No. 367,621 Claims priority,application Austria, May 30, 1963, A 4,395/63 2 Claims. (Cl. 26635)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE with slag.

This invention relates to a cruicible or converter, particularly forcarrying out top blowing processes.

Known crucibles for carrying out top blowing processes consist of acylindrical or pear-shaped vessel which is provided with a refractorylining. The tilt-bearing of such crucibles is mostly accomplished bymeans of carrier rings which are mounted to surround the shell of thevessels and to which trunnions are secured; or in the case of theso-called carrier-ringless crucibles the trunnions may be mounteddirectly to the crucible shell.

It has already been proposed to arrange above the mouth of such acrucible or converter a chimney or flue and seal the gap between thecrucible mouth and the chimney. For this purpose segment-like hingeableor horizontally displaceable parts are known which complement oneanother to form a collar. It is further known to provide for the purposeof sealing the converter mouth against the flue or chimney a liftableand lowerable collar which surrounds the mouth of the converter with aclearance and engages in the lowered position the shell of the converterby means of special sealing elements. Such sealing elements consist,e.g., of a casing secured to the collar and surrounding the same with aclearance, the lower rim of said casing being adapted to be insertedinto an annular edge arranged on the outer wall of the crucible andfilled with a packing.

The known constructions have the disadvantage that that portion of thechimney which seals the crucible mouth and establishes communicationwith the flue cannot be kept clean during operation but is considerablycontaminated by slag splashes. It is desirable to provide a cruciblesealing of simple design, from which the slag will automatically flowback and which does not involve the disadvantages and difficultiesdescribed.

The invention solves this problem in that on top of the converter moutha crucible sealing ring is placed, the inner wall of which is inclinedtowards the interior of the crucible, the vertically displaceablechimney por- 3,358,983 Patented Dec. 19, 1967 tion being adapted to bebrought in engagement with the inclined surface of the crucible sealingring.

The crucible sealing ring may consist of a box-type section oftriangular cross section, the inner cavity of said box-type sectionbeing advantageously connected to a coolant supply conduit.

The sealing ring according to the invention may consist of one orseveral parts. In the case of a two-part or multi-part design the partsmay be moved into the operating position, e.g., on a horizontal slidingtrack.

Owing to the design of the sealing ring as proposed by the invention anyaccumulating or caking of slag upon the slanting inner surfaces isavoided. The sealing ring remains clean during operation, so that thevertically displaceable chimney portion arranged above it can be placedinto sealing position without difliculties.

The diameter of the lower rim of the vertically displaceable chimneyportion is equal to or preferably a little smaller than the upperdiameter of the sealing ring so that a sealing eflect is obtained in asimple manner by lowering the chimney. This enables collecting the wastegases without taking in infiltrated air.

In the drawing, an embodiment of the invention is diagrammaticallyrepresented in a vertical sectional view.

The upper part of a refractory-lined crucible is designated by 1. Thesheet metal shell ends with a T- shaped flange 2, the inwardly directedportion 3 of which borders the brick lining and the outwardly directedportion 4 of which serves for securing the sealing ring 5.

The sealing ring 5 consists of a box-type section of triangular crosssection, the inner wall 6 having an inclination towards the interior ofthe crucible. Towards the outside the sealing ring has a flange 7, whichis adapted to be connected to the flange 4 by means of screws 8. Inlarger crucibles the sealing ring 5 may be made of several parts andmoved into the position shown in the drawing with the aid of slidingtracks or the like. The interior of the sealing ring 5 communicates withconduits 9 and 10 which serve for the supply and discharge,respectively, of a coolant. Above the sealing ring the collar-shapedchimney 11 is mounted to be vertically displaceable, as is indicated bythe double arrow. By lowering the chimney, the lower rim 12 thereofcomes to rest against the inclined surface 6, as indicated in dashlines. In the position drawn in dash lines the converter mouth is sealedand the access of infiltrated air is prevented. In this way it ispossible to recover and utilize the waste gases in a non-dilutedcondition.

As is evident from the drawing, the diameter of the rim 12 of thechimney 11 is somewhat smaller than the upper opening of the sealingring, which is formed by the inclined surfaces 6, so that any additionalsealing means as have been previously required are rendered unnecessary.

Owing to the design of the sealing ring as proposed by this inventionany slopping produced during the process is trapped, as the ejectedliquid slag particles, which may be accompanied by iron shots, will flowfrom the chimney portion 11 to the slanting surfaces 6 and back into thecrucible.

What we claim is:

1. A crucible assembly for carrying out top blowing processes,comprising a crucible having a mouth substantially at the top thereof, avertically displaceable chimney portion for connecting said cruciblemouth with a flue, and a hallow sealing ring on said crucible mouth,said sealing ring having a substantially triangular cross section so asto include a cavity and define an inner surface which is inclinedtowards the interior of said crucible, said vertically displaceablechimney portion being moveable into sealing engagement with saidinclined inner surface of said sealing ring and out of engagementtherewith, said cavity of said sealing ring communicating with a coolantsupply conduit.

2. A crucible assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein the diameter ofthe lower rim of the vertically displaceable chimney portion is smallerthan the diameter of the upper rim of said sealing ring.

4 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1952 Cremer 266--36 X 10/1958Honig 266-35 11/1963 Hoff 26635 X 6/ 1964 McFeaters 26635 FOREIGNPATENTS 9/1955 Italy.

I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

E. MAR, Assistant Examiner.

1. A CRUIBLE ASSEMBLY FOR CARRYING OUT TOP BLOWING PROCESSES, COMPRISINGA CRUCIBLE HAVING A MOUTH SUBSTANTIALLY AT THE TOP THEREOF, A VERTICALLYDISPLACEABLE CHIMNEY PORTION FOR CONNECTING SAID CRUCIBLE MOUTH WITH AFLUE, AND A HOLLOW SEALING RING ON SAID CRUCIBLE MOUTH, SAID SEALINGRING HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY TRIANGULAR CROSS SECTION SO AS TO INCLUDE ACAVITY AND DEFINE AN INNER SURFACE WHICH IS INCLINED TOWARDS THEINTERIOR OF SAID CRUCIBLE, SAID VERTICALLY DISPLACEABLE CHIMNEY PORTIONBEING MOVEABLE INTO SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID INCLINED INNER SURFACEOF SAID SEALING RING AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH, SAID CAVITY OFSAID SEALING RING COMMUNICATING WITH A COOLANT SUPPLY CONDUIT.